The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme · 83 of 159 · tr. Franz Hartmann
Chapter 9 (part 1)
p.
180 CHAPTER IX.
GENERATION.
"Let every Brahman, with fixed attention, consider all nature, both visible and invisible, as existing in the Divine Spirit.
For when he contemplates the boundless universe in the Divine Spirit, he cannot give his heart to iniquity."— Manu .
God evolves the centre of light from eternity to eternity within Himself, and likewise there is in the soul of man a desire to penetrate into the second principle and to live in the light of God.
1 "The soul in its substance is a magical gush of fire from the nature of God the Father.
She is an ardent desire for the light.
Thus, God the Father very strongly, and from all eternity, desires his heart, the centre of the light, and He generates it in His desiring will out of the quality of the fire." ( Four Complexions , ii.) "God makes also the second principle in His love, wherefrom He generates from eternity to eternity His eternal word and heart, and the spirit ignites the bond of nature, and renders it luminous in the love and the life of His heart by the power of the light.
Likewise the soul of man desires to penetrate into the second principle, and to still its hunger with the power of God." ( Threefold Life , i.
11–13.) But if the soul, as has been the case with Adam, does p.
181 not surrender her will to God, then will the divine idea not become annihilated, but is rendered inactive in man.
"The soul has the seven qualities of the inner spiritual world (modified) according to nature; but the spirit is without any qualities; it is outside of nature and in the unity of God.
By means of its fiery nature the spirit becomes manifest in the soul, because it is the true likeness of God, an idea wherein God Himself acts and resides, provided that the soul enters with her desire into God and surrenders her will to Him.
If this does not take place, then will that idea, namely, the spirit, be mute and inactive, like a picture in a mirror that has faded and is without substance, as was the case with Adam in his fall." ( Tabulæ Principæ , 66.) "It should not be supposed that the celestial Ego of man had become a nothing.
It has remained in him, but in his (personal) life it was then like a nothing.
It was then hidden in God and inconceivable to man, and without (manifested) life." ( Mysterium , xx.
28.) "The essence of the soul, that issued from the unfathomable will, has not died.
Nothing can destroy it.
It remains for ever a free will.
But it lost the divine state, wherein was burning the light of God and the fire of His love.
Not that the latter has become a nothing, although within the created soul it became like nothing (unmanifested), and unconscious; but the holy power, that is to say, the spirit of God, which was the active life therein, became hidden." ( Grace , vi.
2.) If the soul thus permits her true light and life to be extinguished, then it naturally follows that her opposite power, the principle of wrath, becomes perceptible (conscious) in her.
1 "As the word or heart of God takes its origin in the light of the majesty, in the eternal fire-tincture of the p.
182 [paragraph continues] Father, likewise is this the case with the image of the soul.
The true image of God resides in the light of the soul-fire, and the fiery soul must draw that light from the love-fountain in God, in His majesty, by means of her imagination in God, and surrender of her self-will to God.
Themes
◆Active Contemplationpraxis
A form of meditation that uses imagery, imagination, or symbolic thought rather than purely empty stillness.
Contemplating the boundless universe and the divine spirit is presented as an active spiritual practice.
All passages →◆Alchemical Workpraxis
The transformation of base substance — outer matter or the inner soul — into a purified, perfected, or 'gold' state; the magnum opus as both laboratory practice and spiritual allegory.
Terms like 'fire-tincture', 'generation', and 'qualities' reflect alchemical metaphors for spiritual transformation.
All passages →◆Anthropomorphismtheology
Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.
God is attributed with a heart, will, desire, and love.
All passages →◆Apophatic Theologytheology
Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa.
The spirit is described as being without any qualities and outside of nature in the unity of God.
All passages →◆Birth Of Word In Soulanthropology
Eckhart's signature doctrine that the Father eternally begets the Son in the ground of the soul; the human interior as the actual site of the divine generative act, distinct from inner_light's static indwelling.
The parallel drawn between God generating His word and the soul's desire to penetrate the second principle mirrors this doctrine.
All passages →◆Correspondencecosmology
The Hermetic axiom that the structure of the cosmos is reflected at every scale — 'as above, so below; as within, so without' — making each level a legible map of the others.
The structure of the soul's qualities is described as modified according to nature, reflecting the divine spiritual world.
All passages →◆Cosmic Dualismtheology
Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality.
The text contrasts the principle of light with the opposite power, the principle of wrath.
All passages →◆Detachment Gelassenheitpraxis
Eckhart's Abgeschiedenheit/Gelassenheit — radical letting-go of will, image, and grasping that opens the soul to God; distinct from inner_silence (quietness) and from material renunciation, and adjacent to Sufi tark and Buddhist non-grasping as a practice rather than a metaphysical claim.
The soul must surrender her will to God for the divine idea to become active.
All passages →◆Divine Hiddennesstheology
The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.
The celestial Ego is described as hidden in God and inconceivable to man after the fall.
All passages →◆Divine Lighttheology
The uncreated luminous quality of the divine, sometimes experienced directly in mystical states; illumination as revelation.
The passage repeatedly emphasizes the 'centre of light', 'light of God', and the soul's desire to live in this light as a core theme.
All passages →◆Evil As Privationtheology
Augustinian and Plotinian doctrine that evil has no positive being of its own but is a lack, distortion, or absence of the good — denying ontological dualism while preserving moral seriousness.
The principle of wrath becomes perceptible only when the true light and life are extinguished.
All passages →◆Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology
Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.
Contemplating the universe in the Divine Spirit prevents giving the heart to iniquity.
All passages →◆Inner Lightanthropology
The divine spark or luminous quality residing within the human person, potentially recognisable through introspection.
The passage explicitly discusses the 'true light and life' within the created soul that becomes hidden or extinguished if the will is not surrendered.
All passages →◆Living Godtheology
The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.
God is described as evolving, desiring, generating, and acting within the soul.
All passages →◆Meditationpraxis
Disciplined inward attention — sitting, focused, or open-awareness practice — as a stand-alone term that umbrellas active_contemplation, inner_silence, and dhyana-style sitting.
The passage begins with a quote about fixed attention and contemplating the universe in the Divine Spirit.
All passages →◆Microcosm Macrocosmcosmology
The human being as a small-scale image of the entire cosmos; the body, soul, and intellect mirroring the structure of the heavens and the divine — distinct from correspondence in that it makes the human the privileged mirror.
The passage draws a parallel between God generating His word/heart and the image of the soul mirroring this divine process.
All passages →◆Mystical Unionsoteriology
The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity.
Salvation involves the soul entering with desire into God and surrendering her will to Him.
All passages →◆Pleromacosmology
The divine fullness or totality of the highest realm, populated by aeons and divine attributes, contrasted with the deficient material world.
The Divine Spirit is described as containing the boundless universe and nature, suggesting a divine fullness.
All passages →◆Return To Sourcesoteriology
The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination.
The text describes the soul's ardent desire to penetrate into the second principle and surrender its will to God to restore the divine state.
All passages →◆Separation From Sourcesoteriology
The felt condition of exile from one's divine origin — Rumi's reed flute torn from its bed, Plotinus's 'we have forgotten,' the Gnostic forgetfulness; the affective wound that complements return_to_source and gives the return its motive.
The fall of Adam is described as the soul losing the divine state where the light of God burned, rendering the spirit inactive.
All passages →◆Spiritual Ascentpraxis
A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source.
The soul desires to penetrate into the second principle and live in the light of God.
All passages →◆Theosis Deificationsoteriology
The doctrine — central to Eastern Orthodox and Maximian theology — that the human person is progressively transformed into a partaker of the divine nature by grace, not merely justified or united in passing ecstasy.
The soul is described as a gush of fire from the nature of God, capable of becoming active with the spirit of God.
All passages →◆Tripartite Soulanthropology
Division of the human being into three principles: spirit (pneuma), soul (psyche), and body/matter (hyle or soma).
A distinction is made between the soul (with seven qualities), the spirit (without qualities), and nature.
All passages →◆Unity Of Beingtheology
The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.
Nature is described as existing in the Divine Spirit, and the spirit resides in the unity of God.
All passages →◇Divine Sparkscosmology
Fragments of divine light or spirit trapped inside material bodies, awaiting liberation and return to their source.
[auto] The soul is defined as a 'magical gush of fire from the nature of God the Father,' indicating a fragment of the divine.
All passages →◇Emanation Hierarchycosmology
A chain of divine beings or principles flowing downward from a single transcendent source (the One or the Father), each level less perfect than the one above.
[auto] The text describes God generating the centre of light, second principle, and eternal word from within Himself.
All passages →◇Logoscosmology
The divine reason, word, or ordering principle through which the universe was created; mediates between the transcendent God and the material world.
[auto] The passage explicitly mentions God generating His 'eternal word' from eternity.
All passages →Related passages · 59 parallels
◆hermeticism|Corpus Hermeticum 10: The Sermon on the Mount|Section 1e
“And for this cause is water poured around earth, to be a guard and wall, to keep the blazing of the fire away.
But mind, the swiftest thing of all divine outthinkings, and swifter than all elements, hath for its body fire.
For mind being…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the soul, its divine origin, and its relationship with God or the divine. They also explore the consequences of the soul's alignment or misalignment with the divine will, highlighting themes of divine light, fire, and the soul's potential for piety or impiety.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 64
“Section 3 3. And the soul includes a faculty peculiarly addressed to Beauty- one incomparably sure in the appreciation of its own, never in doubt whenever any lovely thing presents itself for judgement. Or perhaps the soul itself acts immed…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between the divine and the soul, emphasizing the soul's recognition of beauty and divine principles. They also explore the idea of the soul's connection to a higher, divine reality and the consequences of aligning or not aligning with it.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 275 (part 1)
“Section 9 9.
Clearly a Being of this nature is not the primal existent; there must exist that which transcends it, that Being [the Absolute], to which all our discussion has been leading.
In the first place, Plurality is later than Unity.…”
Both passages discuss the unity of the divine and the soul, and the process of contemplation or desire leading to a higher state of being. They explore the concept of the divine as both the knower and the known, and the soul's journey towards union with the divine.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 286 (part 1)
“Section 2 2.
It can be demonstrated that soul must, necessarily, be of just this nature and that there can be no other soul than such a being, one neither wholly partible but both at once.
If it had the nature of body it would consist of…”
Both passages explore the nature of the soul and its relationship with the divine. They discuss the soul's desire to unite with the divine light and the consequences of not surrendering to the divine will, showing a genuine conceptual parallel across different mystical traditions.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 286 (part 2)
“In the case of things not endowed with intelligence, the "leading-principle" is their mere unity- a lower reproduction of the soul's efficiency.
This is the deeper meaning of the profound passage [in the Timaeus], where we read "By blendin…”
Both passages explore the nature of the soul and its relationship to the divine, emphasizing the indivisible and eternal aspects of the soul and its connection to a higher, unparted essence or divine spirit.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 288
“Section 1 1. The soul: what dubious questions concerning it admit of solution, or where we must abide our doubt- with, at least, the gain of recognizing the problem that confronts us- this is matter well worth attention. On what subject can…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the soul and its relationship to the divine. Plotinus emphasizes the unity and multiplicity of the soul, while Boehme focuses on the soul's desire to connect with the divine light. Both explore the concept of the soul as a unified entity with a divine connection.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 303
“Section 16 16. The punishment justly overtaking the wicked must therefore be ascribed to the kosmic order which leads all in accordance with the right. But what of chastisements, poverty, illness, falling upon the good outside of all justic…”
Both passages discuss the concept of the soul's journey and its connection to a higher principle or divine will. They explore the idea of the soul's natural inclination and its relationship with the divine, albeit within different mystical traditions.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 310
“Section 23 23. I explain: A living body is illuminated by soul: each organ and member participates in soul after some manner peculiar to itself; the organ is adapted to a certain function, and this fitness is the vehicle of the soul-faculty…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between the soul and the body, and the higher principles that govern them. Plotinus describes the soul's faculties and their connection to the body, while the second passage discusses the soul's desire to connect with the divine light and the consequences of not surrendering to God. Both explore the interplay between the spiritual and the physical.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 312
“Section 25 25. Now comes the question, equally calling for an answer, whether those souls that have quitted the places of earth retain memory of their lives- all souls or some, of all things, or of some things, and, again, for ever or merel…”
Both passages explore the relationship between the soul and a higher, divine principle. Plotinus discusses the soul's presence to the body as analogous to light in the air, while Boehme describes the soul's desire to penetrate into the divine light. Both emphasize the distinction and interaction between the spiritual and material realms.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 313 (part 1)
“Section 26 26.
Now if sensations of the active order depend upon the Couplement of soul and body, sensation must be of that double nature.
Hence it is classed as one of the shared acts: the soul, in the feeling, may be compared to the wor…”
Both passages explore the relationship between the soul, the body, and higher principles. Plotinus discusses the soul's faculties and their connection to the body and the Reason-Principle, while Boehme describes the soul's desire to connect with the divine light and the consequences of not surrendering to God. Both emphasize the interaction between the spiritual and the physical.
49 more
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 330
“Section 10 10. The ordering principle is twofold; there is the principle known to us as the Demiurge and there is the Soul of the All; we apply the appellation "Zeus" sometimes to the Demiurge and sometimes to the principle conducting the u…”
Both passages discuss the concept of a divine ordering principle and the soul's connection to it. They explore the idea of an unchanging, eternal wisdom or light that guides the universe and the soul's relationship to this principle.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 333
“Section 13 13. But what is the difference between the Wisdom thus conducting the universe and the principle known as Nature? This Wisdom is a first [within the All-Soul] while Nature is a last: for Nature is an image of that Wisdom, and, as…”
Both passages discuss the concept of a divine ordering principle and the nature of the soul's connection to this principle. They explore the idea of an unchanging, eternal wisdom that guides the universe and the soul's role in reflecting or participating in this wisdom.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 336
“Section 16 16. But if in the soul thing follows thing, if there is earlier and later in its productions, if it engenders or creates in time, then it must be looking towards the future; and if towards the future, then towards the past as wel…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between a higher, intellectual or divine principle and a lower, natural or material principle. They explore the idea of a divine wisdom or spirit that permeates and animates the natural world, with the lower principle being an image or manifestation of the higher.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 339
“Section 19 19. Thus what we know as pleasure and pain may be identified: pain is our perception of a body despoiled, deprived of the image of the soul; pleasure our perception of the living frame in which the image of the soul is brought ba…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between the divine and the soul, emphasizing the soul's aspiration towards the divine. They also explore the concepts of unity and order within the divine realm and the soul's role in it.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 341
“Section 21 21. That this is the phase of the human being in which desire takes its origin is shown by observation of the different stages of life; in childhood, youth, maturity, the bodily desires differ; health or sickness also may change…”
Both passages explore the relationship between the soul and the body, and the higher self and the lower self. They discuss the idea of a higher principle (soul or spirit) interacting with a lower principle (body or nature), and the consequences of this interaction, including the experience of pain and pleasure, and the striving for a higher state of being.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 347
“Section 27 27. If the earth transmits the generative soul to growing things- or retains it while allowing a vestige of it to constitute the vegetal principle in them- at once the earth is ensouled, as our flesh is, and any generative power…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between the divine and the material world, emphasizing the presence of a generative or divine principle within all things. They explore the idea of a higher soul or spirit that interacts with the material realm, though they use different terminology and cultural contexts.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 349 (part 1)
“Section 29 29.
But- keeping to our illustration, by which the body is warmed by soul and not merely illuminated by it- how is it that when the higher soul withdraws there is no further trace of the vital principle?
For a brief space there…”
Both passages explore the relationship between a higher principle (soul or divine spirit) and its manifestation in a lower realm (body or nature). They discuss the nature of the connection and what happens when the higher principle withdraws or is not surrendered to.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 351 (part 1)
“Section 31 31.
Our problem embraces all act and all experience throughout the entire kosmos- whether due to nature, in the current phrase, or effected by art.
The natural proceeds, we must hold, from the All towards its members and from t…”
Both passages explore the relationship between a higher spiritual principle and its manifestation in the material world. They discuss the nature of light and life as they relate to the soul and the divine, and consider the fate of these qualities upon the dissolution or withdrawal of the higher principle.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 360
“Section 40 40. But magic spells; how can their efficacy be explained? By the reigning sympathy and by the fact in Nature that there is an agreement of like forces and an opposition of unlike, and by the diversity of those multitudinous powe…”
Both passages discuss the interconnectedness and vitality of all elements within the universe, emphasizing the presence of life and divine spirit in all things. They share a mystical perspective on the unity and animism of the cosmos, though they come from different traditions.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 381
“Section 2 2. But of what nature is this sovereign principle? If material, then definitely it must fall apart; for every material entity, at least, is something put together. If it is not material but belongs to some other Kind, that new sub…”
Both passages explore the nature of the soul and its relationship to a higher principle or divine spirit. They discuss the inherent life and light within the soul and its connection to a transcendent reality, though they use different metaphysical frameworks and terminology.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 386
“Section 7 7. We come to the same result by examining the sense of pain. We say there is pain in the finger: the trouble is doubtless in the finger, but our opponents must admit that the sensation of the pain is in the centre of consciousnes…”
Both passages explore the nature of the soul and its relationship to a higher principle or divine spirit. They discuss the inherent life and reason within the soul and its connection to a transcendent reality, though they use different metaphysical frameworks and terminology.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 395
“Section 11 11. (16) What intelligent mind can doubt the immortality of such a value, one in which there is a life self-springing and therefore not to be destroyed? This is at any rate a life not imported from without, not present in the mod…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the soul and its relationship to divine life and immortality. They share the concept of the soul having an intrinsic, self-springing life that is not derived from external sources, and they both emphasize the divine origin and eternal nature of this life.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 396
“Section 12 12. (17) A further consideration is that if every soul is to be held dissoluble the universe must long since have ceased to be: if it is pretended that one kind of soul, our own for example, is mortal, and another, that of the Al…”
Both passages discuss the nature and eternity of the soul, emphasizing its divine origin and its connection to a higher, eternal principle. They both explore the idea of the soul's indestructibility and its relationship with the divine.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 398
“Section 14 14. (19) As for the souls of the other living beings, fallen to the degree of entering brute bodies, these too must be immortal. And if there is in the animal world any other phase of soul, its only possible origin, since it is t…”
Both passages discuss the concept of a primal, eternal, and indestructible principle that is the source of life and being. They both emphasize the divine nature of this principle and its role in sustaining all things, though they use different terminology and cultural contexts.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 399
“Section 15 15. (20) Thus far we have offered the considerations appropriate to those asking for demonstration: those whose need is conviction by evidence of the more material order are best met from the abundant records relevant to the subj…”
Both passages discuss the divine nature of the soul and its connection to the divine spirit or Intellectual-Principle. They emphasize the soul's potential to transcend its earthly state and unite with the divine, highlighting the importance of purification and surrendering to the divine will.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 401
“Section 1 1. Many times it has happened: Lifted out of the body into myself; becoming external to all other things and self-encentered; beholding a marvellous beauty; then, more than ever, assured of community with the loftiest order; enact…”
Both passages discuss the eternal nature of the soul and its connection to the divine. They explore the soul's desire to unite with the divine source and its inherent immortality, though they come from different mystical traditions.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 403
“Section 3 3. The Human Soul, next; Everywhere we hear of it as in bitter and miserable durance in body, a victim to troubles and desires and fears and all forms of evil, the body its prison or its tomb, the kosmos its cave or cavern. Now th…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the soul and its relationship to the divine. They emphasize the immortality and divine origin of the soul, though they come from different mystical traditions (Neoplatonism and Christian mysticism).
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 410
“Section 1 1. That the Soul of every individual is one thing we deduce from the fact that it is present entire at every point of the body- the sign of veritable unity- not some part of it here and another part there. In all sensitive beings…”
Both passages explore the concept of a unified soul or spirit that connects all individuals and the universe. They discuss the nature of the soul and its relationship with the divine, emphasizing unity and the interconnectedness of all beings.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 414
“Section 5 5. How then can a multitude of essential beings be really one? Obviously either the one essence will be entire in all, or the many will rise from a one which remains unaltered and yet includes the one- many in virtue of giving its…”
Both passages discuss the dual nature of the soul, with one part connected to the divine or intellectual realm and the other part engaged with the material or sensory world. They also explore the idea that the soul's connection to the higher realm can be obscured or weakened by its engagement with the lower realm.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 418
“Section 2 2. Let every soul recall, then, at the outset the truth that soul is the author of all living things, that it has breathed the life into them all, whatever is nourished by earth and sea, all the creatures of the air, the divine st…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between the divine and the soul, emphasizing the soul's origin in the divine light and its potential to connect with or lose this divine essence. They share a mystical perspective on the soul's eternal nature and its interaction with the divine.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 423 (part 1)
“Section 7 7.
We must be more explicit: The Intellectual-Principle stands as the image of The One, firstly because there is a certain necessity that the first should have its offspring, carrying onward much of its quality, in other words th…”
Both passages discuss the concept of the soul's connection to the divine and its role in the universe. They emphasize the soul's desire to unite with the divine light and the importance of surrendering to the divine will, showing a genuine conceptual parallel across different mystical traditions.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 433
“Section 1 1. Are we to think that a being knowing itself must contain diversity, that self-knowledge can be affirmed only when some one phase of the self perceives other phases, and that therefore an absolutely simplex entity would be equal…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the soul and its connection to a higher, divine principle. They emphasize the transcendence of the soul above the material world and its aspiration to unite with the divine, though they use different terminology and frameworks.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 437 (part 2)
“It possesses self-knowing, thus, on every count; the act is itself; and the object seen in that act- self, is itself.…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between the soul and the divine, emphasizing the soul's origin, its connection to the divine principle, and the concept of the soul's ascent or descent. They also explore the idea of the soul's activity and its potential states, whether active or inactive in relation to the divine.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 441
“Section 9 9. In order, then, to know what the Divine Mind is, we must observe soul and especially its most God-like phase. One certain way to this knowledge is to separate first, the man from the body- yourself, that is, from your body- nex…”
Both passages discuss the soul's connection to the divine, emphasizing the need to transcend the physical and mundane to attain a higher, more divine state of being. They both describe the soul as having a divine origin and the potential to reunite with the divine intellect or spirit.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 444 (part 2)
“The entire intellectual order may be figured as a kind of light with the One in repose at its summit as its King: but this manifestation is not cast out from it: we may think, rather, of the One as a light before the light, an eternal irrad…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the soul and its relationship with the divine, emphasizing the soul's desire to unite with the divine light and the concept of self-vision within the intellectual or spiritual realm. They share a mystical perspective on the unity of vision and the envisioned, and the role of divine light in illuminating the soul.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 445
“Section 13 13. Thus The One is in truth beyond all statement: any affirmation is of a thing; but the all-transcending, resting above even the most august divine Mind, possesses alone of all true being, and is not a thing among things; we ca…”
Both passages discuss the soul's relationship with the divine intellect or spirit, emphasizing the soul's ability to attain a higher state of being through contemplation and surrender to the divine. They share the concept of the soul's potential to reflect or become one with the divine intellect or spirit.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 446
“Section 14 14. How, then, do we ourselves come to be speaking of it? No doubt we deal with it, but we do not state it; we have neither knowledge nor intellection of it. But in what sense do we even deal with it when we have no hold upon it?…”
Both passages discuss the soul's connection to the divine, emphasizing the need to transcend the physical and mundane to attain a higher, more spiritual state. They both describe the soul as having a divine origin and the potential to reunite with the divine intellect or light.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 471
“Section 4 4. Another consideration is that if The Good [and First] is simplex and without need, it can neither need the intellective act nor possess what it does not need: it will therefore not have intellection. (Interpolation or corruptio…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the divine as an infinite, unseen reality that transcends the physical world and human perception. They emphasize the need to turn away from material reality to perceive the divine, though they come from different mystical traditions.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 475
“Section 1 1. We have to examine the question whether there exists an ideal archetype of individuals, in other words whether I and every other human being go back to the Intellectual, every [living] thing having origin and principle There. I…”
Both passages explore the concept of the divine origin and nature of individual souls, emphasizing the eternal and archetypal aspects of existence within a higher, divine realm. They share a mystical perspective on the relationship between the individual soul and the divine, though they come from different traditions.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 482 (part 1)
“Section 4 4.
To "live at ease" is There; and, to these divine beings, verity is mother and nurse, existence and sustenance; all that is not of process but of authentic being they see, and themselves in all: for all is transparent, nothing…”
Both passages explore the concept of the soul's connection to a divine or intellectual realm, discussing the eternal nature of the soul and its relationship to a higher principle. They both emphasize the idea of the soul containing or being connected to universal principles or divine qualities.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 493
“Section 1 1. All human beings from birth onward live to the realm of sense more than to the Intellectual. Forced of necessity to attend first to the material, some of them elect to abide by that order and, their life throughout, make its co…”
Both passages explore the concept of divine beauty and the soul's relationship with the divine. Passage A discusses the primal beauty of the divine and its reflection in the world, while Passage B describes the soul's desire to unite with the divine light and the consequences of failing to do so. Both emphasize the transcendent nature of the divine and its influence on the created world.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 502
“Section 10 10. All, then, that is present in the sense realm as Idea comes from the Supreme. But what is not present as Idea, does not. Thus of things conflicting with nature, none is There: the inartistic is not contained in the arts; lame…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between a higher, intellectual or divine principle and the soul. They explore the idea of a prior, more powerful entity that influences or generates the soul, emphasizing the soul's desire to connect with this higher principle.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 591
“Section 1 1. How are we to explain the omnipresence of the soul? Does it depend upon the definite magnitude of the material universe coupled with some native tendency in soul to distribute itself over material mass, or is it a characteristi…”
Both passages explore the nature of the soul and its relationship to the divine or the universe. They discuss the omnipresence and the intrinsic qualities of the soul, albeit from different religious and philosophical perspectives.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 598
“Section 8 8. The light of our world can be allocated because it springs from a corporeal mass of known position, but conceive an immaterial entity, independent of body as being of earlier nature than all body, a nature firmly self-based or,…”
Both passages discuss the nature of a transcendent, immaterial principle that is indivisible and beyond the constraints of physical existence. They explore the idea of unity and the relationship between this principle and the multiplicity of the world, albeit within different religious and philosophical frameworks.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 601
“Section 11 11. Still, this integral omnipresence admitted, why do not all things participate in the Intellectual Order in its entirety? Why has it a first participant, a second, and so on? We can but see that presence is determined by the f…”
Both passages explore the nature of the soul and its relationship to the divine and the material world. They discuss the omnipresence and the intrinsic qualities of the soul, albeit within different philosophical and mystical frameworks.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 608
“Section 1 1. The integral omnipresence of a unity numerically identical is in fact universally received; for all men instinctively affirm the god in each of us to be one, the same in all. It would be taken as certain if no one asked How or…”
Both passages discuss the nature of a divine, immaterial principle that is indivisible and transcends the physical realm. They explore the idea of unity and the interaction between this principle and the material world, albeit from different mystical traditions.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 626
“Section 6 6. Granted, then, that there exist, apart from things, a unity absolute and a decad absolute in other words, that the Intellectual beings, together with their characteristic essence have also their order, Henads, Dyads, Triads, wh…”
Both passages discuss the concept of a unified, partless unity that encompasses multiplicity and is the foundation of all existence. They explore the idea of a divine principle that is both transcendent and immanent, present in all things while remaining whole and undivided.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 648
“Section 9 9. Admitted, then- it will be said- for the nobler forms of life; but how can the divine contain the mean, the unreasoning? The mean is the unreasoning, since value depends upon reason and the worth of the intellective implies wor…”
Both passages explore the relationship between the divine and the soul, discussing the nature of divine providence and the soul's connection to the divine. They both emphasize the inherent qualities of the soul and its interaction with the divine realm, albeit from different mystical traditions.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 652 (part 2)
“To a traveller over land, all is earth but earth abounding in difference: so in this journey the life through which Intellectual-Principle passes is one life but, in its ceaseless changing, a varied life.
Throughout this endless variation…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between the human soul and a higher, divine principle. They explore the idea of a higher self or soul that connects to a divine realm, with the human soul being an emanation or reflection of this higher principle.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 673
“Section 34 34. No longer can we wonder that the principle evoking such longing should be utterly free from shape. The very soul, once it has conceived the straining love towards this, lays aside all the shape it has taken, even to the Intel…”
Both passages describe a mystical union with the divine, where the soul transcends its individual identity and merges with the divine essence. They share themes of longing, surrender of self, and the attainment of a higher state of being.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 679 (part 2)
“But this would make the power something outside itself; there would be, I mean, the power it grasped and the power by which it grasped: if there is but the one power, what is there to grasp at?…”
Both passages describe the soul's longing for and connection to a divine or supreme reality. They discuss the soul's desire to transcend the material world and unite with the divine, highlighting the transformative and illuminating nature of this union.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 683
“Section 1 1. Can there be question as to whether the gods have voluntary action? Or are we to take it that, while we may well enquire in the case of men with their combination of powerlessness and hesitating power, the gods must be declared…”
Both passages describe a mystical union with the divine, where the soul transcends its ordinary state to attain a higher level of consciousness and unity with the divine. They both emphasize the transformation of the soul and its ability to perceive and merge with the divine essence.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 696
“Section 14 14. Another approach: Everything to which existence may be attributed is either one with its essence or distinct from it. Thus any given man is distinct from essential man though belonging to the order Man: a soul and a soul's es…”
Both passages explore the relationship between the divine and the created, emphasizing the unity and emanation of existence from a higher principle. They discuss the nature of the soul or essence in relation to the divine, highlighting the idea of a transcendent source that is the cause of all being and reason.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 705
“Section 1 1. It is in virtue of unity that beings are beings. This is equally true of things whose existence is primal and of all that are in any degree to be numbered among beings. What could exist at all except as one thing? Deprived of u…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between the divine and the created world, emphasizing the unity and emanation of existence from a higher principle. They explore the idea of essence and the divine source of all being, though within different mystical traditions.
◆renaissance_hermeticism|The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori)|INTRODUCTIONj
“The body is in the soul, the soul is in the mind, the mind is in God.
The life of the soul is the true life of the man.
Of all his various faculties, that which rules all, that which exalts our nature, is Thought.
By means of it we rise…”
Both passages emphasize the divine nature within the human soul and the importance of contemplation and surrender to divine principles. They share a mystical perspective on the union of the human spirit with the divine, though they come from different traditions.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XV (part 1)
“p.
166 CHAPTER XV Occultism and love.
Love and death.
Our different relations to the problems of death and to the problems of love.
What is lacking in our understanding of love?
Love as an every-day and merely psychological phenomenon.…”
Both passages explore the mystical dimensions of fundamental human experiences—love and death in Passage A, and the divine spirit and human soul in Passage B. They share a focus on the invisible, spiritual aspects of these experiences and the quest for understanding beyond the visible world.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XVII (part 1)
“p.
198 CHAPTER XVII A living and rational universe.
Different forms and lines of rationality.
Animated nature.
The souls of stones and the souls of trees.
The soul of a forest.
The human "I" as a collective rationality.
Man as a comp…”
Both passages explore the idea of a living and conscious universe, with Passage A discussing the animism and rationality in nature and Passage B describing the divine spirit pervading all of nature and the soul's connection to it.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XXII (part 3)
“These Eleatic ideas—namely that there is and there can be only One Absolute Being, infinite., unchangeable, without a second, without parts and passions—are the same ideas which underlie the Upanishads and have been fully worked out in the…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between the human soul and the divine, emphasizing the unity and the return of the soul to God. They share the concept of the divine nature within man and the idea of achieving beatitude or divine connection through knowledge or surrender.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XXII (part 18)
“This is at the same time a religious sect and a philosophical school of high idealistic character, which struggled against materialism and against the narrow fanaticism and the literal understanding of the Koran.
The Sufis interpreted the…”
Both passages discuss the mystical union of the soul with the divine, using poetic and symbolic language. They highlight the use of sensory and emotional metaphors to express spiritual truths, though within different religious contexts (Sufism in Passage A and Christian mysticism in Passage B).